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Effect of Biocrust Development on Establishment of Native Plants in a Salt Desert System

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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 12-2020 Effect of Biocrust Development on Establishment of Native Plants in a Salt Desert System Merran Owen Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Owen, Merran, "Effect of Biocrust Development on Establishment of Native Plants in a Salt Desert System" (2020). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 7931. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7931 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFECT OF BIOCRUST DEVELOPMENT ON ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIVE PLANTS IN A SALT DESERT SYSTEM by Merran Owen A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Ecology Approved: Kari Veblen, Ph.D. Thomas Monaco, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member Janis Boettinger, Ph.D. D. Richard Cutler, Ph.D. Committee Member Interim Vice Provost of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2020 ii Copyright © Merran Owen 2020 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Effect of Biocrust Development on Establishment of Native Plants in a Salt Desert System by Merran Owen, Master of Science Utah State University, 2020 Major Professor: Dr. Kari Veblen Department: Wildland Resources In salt desert shrublands of the Great Basin, exotic annual plants are displacing native species. The low productivity and recruitment of these systems leaves them with limited resilience, and active revegetation efforts are often unsuccessful. Biological soil crusts, an important component of these communities, may provide favorable microsites for the reintroduction of native species with increased water and nutrient availability, while limiting competition from exotics. I tested how differing levels of biological soil crust development influence establishment and persistence of three native grasses, Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides (Roem. & Schult.) Barkworth.), squirreltail (Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey), basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus (Scribn. & Merr.) Á. Löve) and one native forb, gooseberryleaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia, (Hook. & Arn.) Rydb.). I tested responses of these species with two establishment methods: broadcast seeding and transplanting of greenhouse-grown seedlings. Experiments were done in a degraded salt desert shrubland in southeastern Idaho, on salt-affected soils. I iv evaluated planting techniques in areas of both high and low crust development. Plant survival, size, and reproductive success were measured at different points in time for a year after planting. Broadcast seeding largely failed across all levels of crust development and species. Biological soil crust development had a significant effect on the ability of spring plantings in a dry year to survive through the first summer after planting. The survival of transplanted seedlings differed significantly by species. This study demonstrates the greater success of transplanting as a method of native species establishment, and the benefits of high soil crust development in the initial establishment of transplanted seedlings under dry conditions. (141 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Effect of Biocrust Development on Establishment of Native Plants in a Salt Desert System Merran Owen Salt desert shrublands are semiarid, shrub-dominated ecosystems that inhabit salt- affected soils. In Great Basin salt deserts, exotic annual plants are invading and displacing native plants. Low plant productivity and slow population growth of native plants in these ecosystems makes them vulnerable to invasion and limits their ability to compete with invasive plants and return to a natural state. Active revegetation efforts, such as planting and direct seeding of native plants, are often unsuccessful for the same reasons. Biological soil crusts (communities of cyanobacteria, lichen, moss, microfungi and other microorganisms that live on the surface layer of the soil) are an important component of salt deserts and commonly occur in the interspaces between plants. Biological soil crusts may provide favorable places to target revegetation practices, as they can provide increased water and nutrients to vascular plants. Additionally, exotic annual species are less able to invade and dominate biological soil crusts. I tested how differing levels of crust development (the amount of cyanobacteria and other organisms) influence the effectiveness of two methods of planting native species: broadcast seeding and transplanting of greenhouse-grown seedlings. Experiments were done in a degraded salt desert shrubland in southeastern Idaho, on salt-affected soils. I evaluated planting techniques in areas of both high and low crust development. Treatment combinations were applied to three native grasses, Indian ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides (Roem. vi & Schult.) Barkworth.), squirreltail (Elymus elymoides (Raf.) Swezey), basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus (Scribn. & Merr.) Á. Löve) and one native forb, gooseberryleaf globemallow (Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia, (Hook. & Arn.) Rydb.). Plant survival, size and reproductive success were measured at different points in time for a year after planting. Broadcast seeding largely failed across all levels of crust development and species. Biological soil crusts improved the ability of spring-planted species, in a dry year, to survive through the first summer after planting. The survival of transplanted seedlings varied across species. This study demonstrates the greater success of transplanting as a method of native species establishment, and the benefits of high soil crust development in the initial establishment of transplanted seedlings during dry times. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Thomas Monaco, for being an indispensable mentor throughout this entire process. He was interested and involved in my projects, generous with his time and had a cheerful and optimistic presence capable of making any problem seem small. He is a natural advisor and I will always remember and appreciate his guidance. I would also like to give a huge thank you to Susan Durham, for her kindness and help with my coding and analysis. I could not have done it without her. I want to thank Justin Williams for all his help treating my plots and keeping a watchful eye on my greenhouse seedlings; thanks to Thomas Green and Erika Waters for helping me with months of fieldwork. I am extremely grateful to Oregon State University for their online courses in statistics. And thank you to my Wildland Ecology students for letting me share my love of botany and giving me the opportunity to teach and mentor. Thanks to my family and friends for your encouragement and support. A special appreciation to my partner, Robyn, for buying me a milk frother and approximately ten thousand boxes of tea, and for crafting her own theories on cheatgrass control, largely revolving around the appetite of our beloved chicken, Stella. Merran Owen viii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 METHODS ..........................................................................................................................8 Study site ..................................................................................................................8 Experimental design .................................................................................................9 Data collection .......................................................................................................12 Analyses .................................................................................................................12 RESULTS ..........................................................................................................................14 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................17 Seeding ...................................................................................................................17 Transplants and biological soil crusts ....................................................................21 Transplants – species differences ...........................................................................23 Transplants versus seeding ....................................................................................24 Season of planting ..................................................................................................26 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................27
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